A day in the life of a twerp
by Elizabeth Shaoblane
Summary: SEQUAL: 'Missing my mother' What happens when Team Rocket loses James...and the 'twerps' find him?
1. A new traveling companion

**A new traveling companion**

PLEASE READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ 'Missing my mother'  
Two months had passed since Delia Ketchum and Samuel Oak had been kidnapped. Two long months had passed since Ash, Misty, Brock, and their Pokémon had gone looking for them. In the entire midst, Brock, Pikachu, and Togepi had been kidnapped in the middle of the night, and Misty had been poisoned. Pigeot had saved her life. Ash spent two days at the pokémon center, worrying about Misty's condition and Brocks location. Misty eventually deemed poisin free and they resumed their journey. Team Rocket eventually dropped in again, this time wanting Misty and all her water pokémon. Ash wouldn't stand for it and won that battle, but woke up the next morning to complete chaos. Cassidy and Butch were in this too, throwing bombs at their tent from a distance. Ash and Misty mounted Pigeot and attacked them, accidentally discovering the hidden Team Rocket building outside of Cerulean City. They went inside only to be greeted by Jessie and James, who immediately locked them up with Delia and the professor. Some quick thinking lead to Brock breaking everyone out. Onix and Charizard make a great team. Pikachu and Togepi are discovered. Butch and Cassidy are knocked out, but Jessie and James have planted bombs. Ash runs out of the flaming wreckage when the counter reaches zero. Delia is re-united with Mr. Mime. Misty gratefully kisses Ash to say thank you, and Ash, who has been rather taken with Misty, has quite the challenge saying 'your welcome'. The group goes back to Pallet, repairs the Ketchum house and life continues on as normal, until one day when Ash, Misty, and Brock decide their vacation is over. They left for Celadon city roughly two weeks ago. For full story and to read the beginning of the plot, please see 'Missing my mother' by Elizabeth Shaoblane.  
  
'A day in the life' by Elizabeth Shaoblane of Changeling Fanfictions  
"Once again, an easy victory for Ash Ketchum!" Ash yelled victoriously as he emerged victorious from the Celadon city gym with his new badge in hand.  
"Easy..." Misty said under her breath so Ash couldn't hear. "You were crying like Togepi at midnight."  
"Huh?" Ash asked her, apparently hearing a little bit of it.  
"Oh..." Misty said, thinking fast. "I said...easy, he should have surrendered the fight." She wasn't in the mood for arguing today, and Ash was grinning from ear to ear.  
"Yeah." Ash said, smiling at nothing in particular, visualizing the sweetness of a gym leader surrendering the beautiful badges aft-  
"Ash!" Brock said, snapping out of his dream. "Were here and I'm not going to hold the door any longer."  
They had arrived at the pokémon center looking forward to a meal and a little break.  
"Are there any rooms left Nurse Joy?" Ash asked the nurse while Brock simply stared at her and drooled and Misty kept shushing a crying Togepi.  
"Well, you're in luck. We have 2 left. One with two beds and shower, and the other with one bed. No shower." Nurse Joy answered.  
"Does the two bedroom one have a couch?" Ash asked. Nurse Joy nodded.  
"We'll take it. Just the one night."  
They had dinner and went back to their room afterward. They fell asleep, Brock on the couch, roughly half-an-hour later.  
At sometime in the dark of the night, Ash woke up. It was cold, Togepi was crying, and Misty was in the corner, wrapped in a blanket and trying to calm Togepi. Ash sat up and groaned.  
"What's wrong, Misty?" Ash asked softly, not wanting Brock to wake as well. He silently got up and crept toward the open window.  
"Nothings wrong...Togepi woke me up. It's alright, Ash. GO back to bed." Misty grinned at him falsely. Ash saw right through it. Togepi wasn't the only thing keeping Misty from sleeping.  
"I may be dense to you, Misty, but I'm not completely stupid." Ash said, trying to cheer her up. "Out with it. What else woke you up?" Misty looked at him, sat on her bed, and sighed.  
"Well..." She choked nervously. Togepi stopped crying. "It's just that...well...do you ever get that feeling that something big is coming up?"  
"All the time. Take the gym leaders for example." Ash said, pretending he understood.  
"No, that's not it." Misty said, looking down at the smiling Togepi in her arms. "I get the feeling that something big is going to happen. Something really big."  
"Uhhh...are you moving Misty? I'm not sure I get it." Ash asked. He wished he could understand Misty's pain and help her through it, really he did, but that wasn't possible.  
"No..." Misty said, gently rocking Togepi back and fourth. "I get the feeling something very odd is going to happen. I'll leave it at that."  
"Are you worried about it?" Ash asked.  
"Of course." Misty said. Togepi had fallen asleep. Ash came and sat next to her.  
  
"Wouldn't you be if you felt drastic changes coming?"  
"It would depend on the changes." Ash said. "I had a dream once...a dream that mom was getting married. Not a very big change for me, just for her last name and the number of people in the house, but when you say big changes, I don't see happy things." Ash continued. Misty listened intently. "I think of Team Rocket, taking away all my friends and locking them away in a hidden building on the outskirts of my best friends home town...I think of you, getting poisoned. I think of Brock, disappearing while trying to save us..." Ash finished. He looked teary to Misty, but he wasn't about to cry. Misty set Togepi in the middle of the bed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.  
"I know what you mean." Misty said, releasing their hug. "That was a sad experience...but it's over now. Everyone's safe. As long as you're with me, you're safe." Misty said, hugging him again. "Even if these changes do happen, I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Misty finished, on the edge of crying with joy. They sat there silent for a minute, simply enjoying the experience.  
Misty then fell asleep on Ash's shoulder. After Ash threw a blanket over her and Togepi and crawled back into his own bed.  
Ash, Misty, and Brock continued on the next day. Ash and Misty looked a little bit tired, but Brock didn't notice, nor did Ash or Misty care.  
A nice two-hour walk was calling them. This time, on the route to Olivine city to get a ticket to Kanto. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was clear, and Ash wasn't hungry. Everything was going to go great.  
"This is going great!" Misty said, stretching one arm high into the air-the other was holding Togepi.  
"Yeah!" Brock said. "The weather is nice, the scenery is beautiful and Ash isn't hungry for a change!"  
"Didn't the narrator just say all those things in that same order?" Ash asked.  
"Yeah, but she can't think of anything else." Misty answered.  
They had a nice laugh at this comment.  
They walked for about ten more minutes. A quiet 'thud' in the distance made Misty stop in her tracks. Ash and Brock turned around and looked at her.  
"What's wrong, Misty?" Brock asked.  
"Didn't you just hear a distant thud?" Misty asked, turning toward the empty field to their right.  
Then, out of nowhere, a smoke bomb was thrown at them. One with the letter 'R' on it.  
Brock reached out and caught it.  
"Ahhh!" Ash yelled. "Pikachu, run!"  
Brock threw the bomb, and Ash, Misty, and Brock each took off in a different direction.  
  
There was an explosion, and things got really smoky.  
  
When the smoke cleared, there were Jessie and James, standing back to back in the familiar costumes, the familiar hair, and the same rose in James' hand. Team Rocket, unlike Ash, Misty, and Brock, hadn't changed a bit.  
"Prepare for trouble."  
"And make it double."  
"To protect the world from twerps like you."  
"To unite all peoples and not get sued."  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
"Jessie."  
"James."  
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."  
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight fight fight fight."  
"Meowth! Dat's off it! We just destroyed your headquarters!" Brock yelled.  
"Quiet twerp! Hand over your pokeballs and back away!" Jessie said.  
"Giving up your pokeballs would make the boss' day!" James said.  
"Oh give it up!" Misty yelled, surprising everyone. "Why don't you to quit and start a daycare business or something! It's easy money!"  
Everyone stared at Misty for a second before turning their attention back to Team Rocket.  
"Were wasting our time. Go Arbok!" Jessie yelled as she threw a pokéball high into the air. Arbok emerged and hissed.  
"Pigeot! Go!" Ash yelled, also throwing a pokéball into the air. The brilliant bird pokémon emerged and crowed, flexing it's dangerous talons menacingly.  
"I don't like this..." Misty said. Togepi started to cry. Jessie looked at the crying egg pokémon, forgetting the battle around her.  
"Pigeot! Gust attack!" Ash yelled. James' jaw dropped in horror.  
"Jessie! Meowth! Get behind that tree!" James yelled, pointing across the road as he dived behind a bush.  
"Huh?" Jessie said, noticing that James was panicked. It was to late. Pigeot had already started to flap its incredible wings and the wind pressure was getting stronger. Meowth screamed and got blown back into the balloon. James extended a hand to Jessie, but it was to late. She flew into the balloon as it was starting to lift off. Pigeot stopped flapping, but it was to late. The balloon was already over 50 feet off the ground.  
"Pigeot! Attack the balloon, now!" Ash called. Pigeot flew off and punctured the balloon, letting the air escape from it loudly. It sailed smoothly for a minute, then flew wildly off into the distance.  
"JAMES!" Jessie and Meowth yelled from the balloon.  
"Jessie...Meowth..." James said, falling to the ground on his knees. He had failed.  
  
He tried to protect Jessie, but Misty's Togepi had distracted her.  
"Pigeot, return." Ash said, extending the pokéball to arms length. He put Pigeot's pokéball into his pocket.  
"You alright Pikachu?" Ash asked his pokémon.  
"Pika pi." Pikachu said, nodding its head.  
"You guys okay?" Ash asked Misty and Brock.  
"I'm okay, but I don't know about Togepi." Brock said, looking at the egg.  
"Togepi okay. Just a little tired." Misty said, rubbing its head.  
"Well...are we going to continue on?" Ash asked.  
"Well, yeah. Of course, but what are we going to do about-" Misty said, tilting her head toward James, who was still sobbing on the ground.  
"Uhhh..." Ash started, apparently clueless.  
"We can't just leave him here..." Brock said, glancing at him.  
Ash and Misty looked back at James, who was now sitting silently on the ground, holding his knees and sobbing lightly.'  
"Misty?" Ash said.  
"Do it Ash." Misty started. "It's your duty as a trainer."  
Ash nodded and slowly started to walk toward James. He hadn't got halfway toward him when James looked up at him.  
"You've gotta help me find Jessie!" James said, flinging himself at Ash's ankles and looking up at him.  
"Alright, but let go of me. We'll help you find Jessie and Meowth if you come with us and stay out of our way!" Ash said.  
"Anything!" James said, letting go of Ash and staring up at him.  
Ten minutes later, Ash, Misty, and Brock found themselves walking the road with James behind them. Pikachu was clinging to Ash's shoulder tightly, occasionally throwing a menacing look at James.  
James had nothing on him. Except for the clothes he was wearing and the pokeballs in his pocket, he had no belongings, no money, and worst of all, no Jessie or Meowth. Just the twerps and his pokémon. He was very nervous about traveling with them  
On the other hand, traveling with them would give him a chance to get some information about them all, including Pikachu. He might even be able to get Pikachu before he found Jessie. It was worth a try, and besides, what else was there to do. All he had to do was stay a good ten or so feet behind them and he'd be alright.


	2. She does that every night

**She does that every night**

Ash, Misty, Brock, and James came into the pokémon center at Shallowtown. Shallowtown was a small settlement off the road, and having nowhere else to go, they decided to go. The town population was small. Roughly 30 people lived there, and the town looked deserted. The pokémon center was just as empty.  
"Hey. If the place is this deserted, maybe they'll have some of the bigger rooms available!" Misty said.  
Sure enough, there were rooms available, one of which had three beds, but no four-bed rooms. Brock, as usual, volunteered to sleep on the couch.  
The night was quiet. James had volunteered to sleep on the couch, but Brock had insisted on it. He lay on his bed, looking at all the twerps.  
There was Brock. After all the years of following them, James knew quite well that he wanted to be the worlds best pokémon breeder. He also knew that he flirted with every woman except for Misty, Jessie, and Ash's mom. Being the strongest and tallest of the twerps, you didn't want to mess with him.  
Then, there was Misty. The best swimmer and only girl in the group. She had followed Ash practically since the first day they met. He wasn't there to witness it, but he knew very well that Ash had stolen Misty's bike in an attempt to lose an angry flock of Spearow. Pikachu, who suddenly felt the urge obey, had attacked the Spearow and ruined Misty's bike, but Misty had pinned the blame on Ash.  
  
Finally, there was Ash. Fast asleep on the bed with Pikachu beside him. The reason James was with them tonight. Another attempt at stealing Pikachu gone horribly wrong. James could understand why Ash loved Pikachu so much. He had known it since James and Jessie met Meowth. Ash had been very careful with Pikachu. Ash had loved that Pikachu since day one, even when Pikachu had laughed at his futile attempts to catch a wild Pidgey. He had loved that Pikachu enough to let an angry flock of Spearow kill him. That's how he met Misty.  
Misty had been following Ash for roughly six years now. Through everything, she stuck by him and saved his life. As much as she insulted and taunted him, she wouldn't leave. It was apparent that she cared about him too much.  
"Misty must like him." James said aloud.  
"Yeah." Said a deep voice from the couch. "She does." Brock was awake.  
"How can you tell?" James asked. He couldn't see Brock, but he knew he was awake.  
"Misty and I have had 'the talk' about it. Ash went to get wood and water, and Misty just started daydreaming. I talked to Ash, and he admitted it too, but reluctantly. Then he told me that if I ever told anyone, he'd be eating me for breakfast." Brock's voice replied. " It was to much fun. I told his mom and she thought that was just too cute. Just look at Misty." The voice sounded smug.  
From the way the curtains are open, James could see Misty and Ash perfectly, but the angle of the couch prevented James from Seeing Brock.  
"Seriously. Look at her." Brock said. "She does this every night. Any second now."  
James watched as Misty reached to the nightstand, still asleep, and grasped Ash's hat. She grinned into her pillow and pulled the hat to her, holding it tightly to her.  
"She does that every night?" James asked, turning his attention back to Brock's silhouette.  
"Every night. She's got it bad." Brock answered. "Ash is just as bad."  
"What's he do in his sleep?" James asked. Brock chuckled.  
"When were in the tent, you usually find him snuggling his sleeping bag up to Misty's a bit. Just a little bit, but you can tell he enjoys it. He wont stop grinning until he wakes up."  
"Every night?" James asked.  
"Yep." Brock answered.  
"They ever kissed?" James asked before he could stop himself.  
"I've only seen it once, and I'll show the picture too, but I got Misty to talk." Brock said.  
"And?" James asked.  
"At least two or three, but only once I've seen." Brock said. "Remind me to show you the picture."  
"Wow..." James said, laying back on his bed. "Jessie and I have always wondered and always had bets about those two."  
"You miss her?" Brock asked, some sadness in his tone.  
"Yes." James said with a trace of embarrassment.  
"Nothing to be embarrassed about. You and Jessie have been tailing us for a long time. Seeing Ash and Misty," Brock continued, "do you ever wonder what'll happen to you and Jessie?"  
"All the time." James said. "We love each other very much, but were not going to let that affect our work." James mentally slapped himself.  
"I always wondered." Brock said. "You two have always looked very close to me. Misty see's it too, but Ash...well, he doesn't pay attention."  
"How old is he now anyway?" James asked.  
"Ash?" Brock started. "He's 16 now."  
They sat in silence before-  
"What do you want with Pikachu anyway?" Brock asked.  
"Who ever said we wanted Pikachu. The boss wants him." James asked.  
More silence.  
"Hey. You won't tell Jessie about..." James started, dropping off in the middle, realizing he didn't know what he was about to say.  
"Not if you don't want me to, and don't forget. I'm one of the twerps, remember?" Brock said. "She won't listen to me. It'll be wasting her time."  
James looked over at Misty, who was still cuddling Ash's hat before he fell asleep.  
The weather was grey the next morning. Morning with the twerps was exciting. James had been up since 5:30, since that's when Meowth usually woke him and Jessie up. He watched as Ash poked Togepi. Ash jumped back into his bed and pretended to be asleep while Togepi started crying and woke Misty. Misty threw Ash's hat under his bed and picked Togepi up, rocking it back and fourth. She stood up and hurried into the corner of the room as so she wouldn't wake Ash, Brock, or James. She was a little too late. Brock stretched, yawned, and walked off to the bathroom. The sound of running water could be heard. When Togepi stopped crying and Ash had fallen asleep again, Misty climbed up and jumped on Ash's bed, who then sprang awake screaming "I DIDN'T DO IT!" Misty fell off the bed in surprise, Ash went to help her up, Brock exited the bathroom in a towel, and James sat up, yawning as though he had actually been asleep.  
"Sorry about that Misty, but you scared me. Are you alright?" Ash asked. Brock rolled his eyes and proceeded back into the bathroom to get dressed.  
"Well, this has been an interesting morning." James said. At his voice, Pikachu's ears perked up.  
"There always like this." Ash said, pulling on his gloves. "Hey where's my hat?"  
"Under your bed." Misty answered, turning back to her own bed and picking up Togepi.  
After everyone had finished showering and getting dressed, they left the pokémon center.  
"Let me lead today." Misty whined.  
"You might get us lost." Ash said.  
"You never know until you try. C'mon. You always lead and usually we get lost. Just this once." Misty begged.  
In the end, Brock ended up leading.  
"See what I meant?" Brock asked, jerking his thumb back at Ash and Misty, who were now arguing about Misty's baking.  
They arrive at their destination.  
"C'mon." Ash said eagerly. "I want to battle the leader again."  
"But Ash!" Misty whined. "We just got here and-" Ash took off running. "And I guess we should just catch up to him."  
Misty, Brock, and James took off after him. Ash was already at the gym with a pokéball in his hand when they opened the door.  
"Is he going to fight the leader?" James asked Misty.  
"No, the leader isn't here. He's going to battle his bodyguard. Watch..." Misty said.  
"I choose Elekid!" The bodyguard called, throwing the pokéball in the air.  
"Bulbasaur!" Ash called, throwing his pokéball. "I choose you!"  
"Each trainer is allowed two pokémon each." Called the gym referee. "The guest trainer is allowed one substitute if he wishes. The match will end when both of either trainer's pokémon are declared unable to battle. 3...2...1...Go!"  
"Bulbasaur! Vine whip now!"  
"Elekid! Thunder blast! Go!"  
Back and fourth the battle went. While Misty and Brock cheered from the sidelines, James just stood next to Brock, mouth wide open, to impressed to say much.  
"Bulbasaur! Use razor leaf attack!" Ash called.  
Bulbasaur nodded and let the leaves fly. Powerful, sharp, pointy and dangerous leaves flew at Elekid. Within seconds, Elekid was down.  
"Elekid is unable to battle." The referee declared. The opponent however, was looking very smug as he threw a pokéball inches from his hand and caught it again.  
"Well played Ketchum. Let's see if you can beat this."  
The guard threw the pokéball high into the air. A large Zapdos appeared. Ash looked puzzled. A baby Elekid was nothing, but a full-grown Zapdos? After looking up Zapdos in the pokédex, he grinned and recalled Bulbasaur.  
"Go Squirtle! I choose you!" He yelled, throwing the pokéball into the air.  
Squirtle emerged from the pokéball.  
"He still hasn't evolved that little one yet?" James asked Brock.  
"Nope. Ash won't evolve anything." Brock said. "He's thought about it, but in the end, Pikachu didn't want to evolve, so Ash didn't make her."  
"Squirtle! Give Zapdos a hard water gun!"  
"Zapdos! Use Zap Cannon attack!"  
James stared in awe. Whenever he and Jessie battled a gym leader, they more or less were winging it. Now, here was Ash, who was ahead in the battle all because he had strategy.  
Plus, he appeared to know his pokémon quite well.  
"One more water gun should finish it off Squirtle! Make it your best one!" Ash called.  
Squirtle took a breath, braced itself, and released it's load of water.  
Sure enough, the mighty Zapdos was defeated and fell to the floor.  
"Zapdos is unable to battle. Squirtle and Ash win the match." Called the referee.  
Ash was very happy. He ran to hug Squirtle. Even though he didn't win a badge, he had won some money, but that wasn't why he was happy. He practically tackled Squirtle to the ground while hugging the life out of the thing. He eventually did recall him.  
Pikachu looked kind of upset. Ash hadn't called her in, but then again, she hadn't been against a Zapdos before. Plus, they were the same type. Not very effective.  
As Misty and Brock ran up to Ash, James walked slowly behind them.  
"C'mon. I'm buying lunch." Ash said to them. He started out the door with Misty and Brock, but he stopped and turned around.  
"Come on James." Ash said, grinning and beckoning toward the door. James was still in awe about Ash's battling techniques, plus, he caught himself thinking about Jessie again.  
So, he followed, head bowed and once again near tears.  
They stopped at a sandwich shack and got some to go. At a grassy plain, Brock unfolded a blanket for them to picnic on.


	3. A hat, a dream, a reunion

**The hat, the dream, and the reunion**

They had enjoyed their lunch, talking quietly to one another except for James. They had let their pokémon out for some sun, stretch, and sandwiches, and they were enjoying it immensely.  
"What's wrong, James?" Misty asked him. Ash and Brocks attention turned to James.  
"Nothing...it's just...I guess I kind of miss Jessie, that's all." James said.  
"If I were you, I would miss her too." Misty said. "You're stuck with a bunch of twerps who are constantly thwarting your techniques to steal pokémon." She said bitterly.  
"Well, it's more than that..." James said, looking at the bottom of the blanket. He felt Ash's hand on his shoulder.  
"Ya gonna be alright James?" Ash asked him softly. James grinned halfheartedly and nodded.  
"I know how to cheer you up." Ash said smugly.  
"So do I." Misty said smugly. Quickly, she reached across the blanket, grabbed Ash's hat, and took off running.  
"Hey!" Ash called, leaping off the blanket. "That wasn't what I was talking about!" Brock and James started laughing as Ash disappeared into the forest, but they were laughing even harder when Misty jumped out of a tree and ran in after him. A minute later, Ash came back out and started looking around frantically.  
"Where did Misty get to? Brock! Where'd she go?" Ash asked.  
"Haven't seen her." Brock answered, trying to keep a straight face while James sniggered quietly.  
While Ash was yelling about how Brock was blind, Misty climbed a tree behind them.  
  
By now, James and Brock were laughing so hard they were about to die of it.  
Ash turned and walked back to the edge of the forest. Then, Misty climbed down wearing Ash's hat and crept up slowly behind him. Ash was startled as she leapt in front of him and tackled him down, pinning him to the ground.  
James once again felt depressed as he watched Misty and Ash grin at each other. It was so obvious that they loved each other. Ash had that glint in his eye that James had often seen in his own eyes. Then Misty, pinning him and smiling down at him, looking both satisfied with her job of tackling Ash and content with their position. Ash reached up and grabbed his hat off of Misty's head.  
  
"Gotcha Ketchum." Misty said smugly, smiling down at him. "Gotta catch Ketchum."  
Finally, Ash got another idea and tilted his head to the side.  
"Hey!" He started. "That's the biggest Spinarak I've ever seen." He said with little enthusiasm as he looked into the trees at the large, invisible Spinarak.  
Misty's eyes widened. Without even looking, she jumped off Ash and took off running back toward the blanket. She fell on the grass and just laid there while Ash, who hadn't moved an inch, completely started cracking up.  
"Alright you guys. We have to get to the pokémon center or they wont have any rooms left." Brock said, recalling his pokémon and folding up the blanket.  
Sure enough, the pokémon center only had one room left. Two beds and a couch. Ash and Misty somehow ended up in the beds, and Brock had insisted James take the couch.  
  
He fell asleep quickly out of depression.  
He was flying, flying the giant Meowth balloon high in the sky. The weather was clear, the scenery was beautiful, and best of all, Jessie and Meowth weren't fighting. Meowth was curled up on one of James' disguises, fast asleep and dreaming. Jessie was there too, messing with clothes, make-up, and all the few things she owned. She looked at him, curiously and said something, but James couldn't hear her. She looked at him funny, set down her clean skirts, and walked over to him.  
"Something wrong James?" She asked. She was doing something she didn't do very often. Jessie was smiling at him. In a kind way. For once, she didn't looked worried, she didn't look ill, she didn't even look evil. She looked very content and happy.  
"It's just so good to be back." James half-whispered, smiling back at her. Jessie's smile grew, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him.  
"I missed you so much. I hope that never happens again." She said as they released each other.  
"It's great to be back." James said, enjoying the breeze that was blowing his hair everywhere. Jessie smiled at him and went back to her laundry, a bit more of a grin on her face. James sighed and leaned on the edge of the balloon looking at the scenery.  
"James?" Jessie's voice asked. James turned around to see not Jessie, but instead Brock. This startled him enough into waking him up.  
"James?" Brock was saying as he tried to wake him. "James. Were leaving, get up." A quick breakfast and they continued, today on route to Sierratown. It was only about an hour-long walk.  
All the way there, Misty kept stealing Ash's hat and running ahead, and Ash would of course yell something competitive such as 'Hey! That's not fair!' or 'Bring it on, Misty!' then he and Pikachu would chase after her, leaving Brock and James to start running after them. Of course with all the running, they reached Sierratown in half the time.  
"This place sure is active..." Said Misty, pointing out the obvious as a large group of children chasing a Rattata ran past.  
"Poor creature..." Misty said as the Rattata stopped and every one of the children fell over it.  
Suddenly, the children and the Rattata scattered as an explosion occurred somewhere roughly 20 feet in front of them. Bombs were dropping.  
"Ah! Were being attacked!" Brock said.  
"Look! Jessie and Meowth!" Misty said, pointing skyward. Sure enough, a balloon came into view. Jessie and Meowth were throwing bombs with the letter 'R' to the ground.  
From the angle they were at, the couldn't see James, but he could see them through the tree's. Barely enough to make out that it was actually them.  
"JESSIE!" James yelled. He took off running towards the balloon. Jessie stopped throwing the bombs and signaled for Meowth to do so to.  
"JESSIE!" James yelled again. This time, Jessie saw him and her eyes lit up.  
"James!" She yelled ecstatically. Much to James' surprise, she jumped off the balloon.  
  
Meowth couldn't land because of all the trees and had to keep going.  
James reached up and caught Jessie. They laughed out of happiness and Jessie hugged James. She wouldn't let go either. Ash, Misty, and Brock skidded to a halt on the scene. James put Jessie down, but she hugged him again.  
"Your alright!" She said happily in his shoulder, practically crying out of happiness. "I can't believe you're alright! You look so much healthier! Oh th-"  
"Jessie." James said, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her away from him, grinning. "I'm alright. Don't worry about it." He was halfway between cracking up and crying.  
Once again, Jessie practically tackled him with another hug.  
"Well," Misty said "she's happy to see him, that's apparent." She said, watching as Jessie halfway released James and started to tell him everything that had happened in his absence.  
"Yeah." Ash said. "Let's go before they remember were here." Ash, Misty, and Brock turned to leave. Before they had taken two steps, a familiar Meowth balloon had landed in front of them.  
"Not so fast, twerps." Meowth called, jumping onto the front of the basket. "You're gonna pay for taking James away."  
"We didn't take him away, you took off without him. We took care of him!" Ash yelled. Jessie grabbed James' hand and hurried in front of the balloon with Meowth, taking James with her.  
"Just because you twerps took care of James doesn't mean I can't be mean." Jessie said, an evil grin on her lips.  
"WHAT!" Ash yelled in outrage. "THIS WASN'Y MY FAULT, IT WAS PIGEOT'S!"  
But it was to late. Jessie had already seized a pokéball and thrown it.  
"Go Arbok!" She yelled as the large snake appeared out of nowhere.  
"Uhhh...Jessie?" James started. "They did take care of me, and it was Pigeot's fault this happened.  
"Then they're going to pay for Pigeot's mistake." Jessie said with an evil grin.  
"Alright Pikachu. Get out there and show them all!" Ash said to Pikachu.  
"Pika!" Pikachu piped excitedly as she rushed into the middle of the field.  
"Arbok! Poisin sting attack!" Jessie yelled.  
"Pikachu! Dodge it and use thundershock!" Ash called to Pikachu. As the poisin spikes flew toward Pikachu, she successfully dodged them all by jumping, landed on the ground, and used a very powerful thundershock. Jessie screamed and jumped into the balloon, pulling James in after her.  
"Arbok! Wrap that Pikachu up!" Jessie called.  
"Pikachu! Head butt it!" Ash called.  
Pikachu ran toward Arbok at an incredible speed and made contact. Arbok hit the balloon and knocked in away.  
"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET IS TOGETHER AGAIN!" Jessie, James, and Meowth yelled as the flew into the sky followed by an unconscious Arbok.  
"Alright Ash!" Misty said hugging him. She quickly released him when she realized what she was doing.  
"Uhhh...thanks Misty." Ash said smiling at her.


	4. Pictures are worth a thousand words

**Pictures are worth a thousand catcalls**

Team Rocket had changed a lot since that day. Jessie and James, especially, had all become very close to each other. They were more than friends or co- workers. Meowth, who just happened to have a camera with him one day, managed to get a good picture of Jessie playing with the neck of James' shirt.  
While he was still wearing it.  
James was guilty to. Once again, Meowth and his trusty camera proved this by snapping a picture. James was draping a coat over a shivering Jessie on a November evening, and they both had that glint in their eye. This particular picture Jessie had stolen from Meowth and put away in a safe place.  
Shortly after falling out of tree, Jessie hurt her ankle, and Meowth got two pictures. One where James had Jessie's hand and was asking her if she was okay. In the second picture, Meowth had been running from Weezing, who James had sent on Meowth after James discovered him.  
Then, there was Meowth's favorite picture. James was stuck upside down in a tree and Jessie had used that as an opportunity to mess up his hair. After finally getting down, James ended chasing after Jessie with his hair gel, ranting about the price of it, but also laughing his head off.  
In a particularly embarrassing, yet romantic picture, Meowth caught Jessie and James sitting on the edge of a cliff, but in the picture, Jessie had fallen asleep on James' shoulder, and James had thrown his jacket over her. Jessie was often embarrassed by this picture and claimed that 'it was Meowth's fault she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before', but she and James were the only one's who thought so.  
James was often blackmailed as well. In one particular picture, James had a hand on Jessie's shoulder and was holding carnations in the other hand. Jessie was very surprised at this, but she loved flowers.  
Of course, Team Rocket met Ash, Misty, and Brock again. At one particular meeting, Brock had completely embarassed Ash and Misty by saying 'Alright lovebirds. Kiss and make up!' At this, both Ash and Misty had tackled Brock to the ground, one landing on top of the other. Meowth got a picture just before Ash ran after him yelling that if Meowth didn't give the picture to him, he would force Meowth to eat Misty's baking. Even though this wasn't more 'Team Rocket paparazzi' as Meowth was now calling it, both pictures were keepers for the book. The second picture showed Ash tackling Meowth to the ground.  
Ash and Misty had become a lot closer. Ever since the whole 'kiss and make- up' incident, Brock had finally snapped a picture of Misty cuddling Ash' hat in her sleep, to which both Ash and Misty said that Misty lost her teddy bear.  
A picture of Misty clinging onto Ash's backpack as he held a baby Weedle always embarrassed Misty. She claimed she was scared of bugs. When asked why she didn't cling onto Brock, Misty said that Ash was closer.  
James had been returned in better shape than he had left. Romance was budding on both teams and everyone was enjoying it. A picture of Misty holding Ash's hat just out of his reach proved that everyone was enjoying the experience. Even if Team Rocket or Ash and Misty never did become an official couple, they would always have the joy of young love and the beauty of friendship. As long as Meowth and Brock have they're camera's, we have proof that love and friendship are two very important elements for living on this planet.  
One night in the tent, Ash rolled over in his sleeping bag and poked Misty awake.  
"Ow! Ash!, whaddaya want?" Misty asked.  
"Misty," Ash started, his young mind hard at work, "why do people love?" He asked. At first, Misty was a little confused and shocked by the question. She thought hard about it, finally coming up with the closest thing to an answer she could get. She moved her sleeping bag closer, as did Ash.  
"Because..." Misty started, leaning in closer to him. "Love makes the world go 'round. It's necessary for survival. Someday, you'll meet some girl who likes you more for you instead of the fact that you're a famous trainer. Someday you'll meet her and we'll never see you again. Be good to her Ash Ketchum. These girls don't come around every day."  
Ash gave her a lopsided grin.  
"Maybe not, but there's a special one I see everyday." Ash said, putting his hand on Misty's shoulder. "And I hope it's her."  
Misty smiled.  
"You know her." Ash said. "G'night Misty."  
"G'night Ash...see you in the morning." Misty said as she carefully pulled Ash's hat away from his sleeping form.  
Love makes the world go round and we need to remember that. Some relationships shouldn't be taken past friendship, but others could. If you play your cards wrong, it might end in disaster. Friends first is the formula for success. If you get a change to make new friends, do it. You may end up marrying one of them.  
Once Misty was sure Ash was asleep, she leaned over and kissed him goodnight.  
And not on the cheek either.  
'A day in the life' is a Changeling Fanfiction written by Elizabeth Shaoblane.  
End  
'A day in the life of a twerp' sequel to 'Missing my mother' was written by Elizabeth Shaoblane of Changeling Fanfictions


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